Filming During a Global Pandemic
I didn’t know how we were going to succeed this semester, but I tried not to show my pessimism. With the uncertainty of COVID-19 and my passion for film, I didn’t think we could make filming work while also keeping our distance and being safe.
Who would want to watch people being interviewed with masks on? Would we be able to get compelling footage by keeping our distance? And would we put ourselves and others in danger by going on site to film? These questions were always on my mind.
Our first day on site was nerve-wracking. I had spent all summer doing little passion projects in the safety of my home; I filmed videos of my mom cooking and I edited creative projects for my internship, but it had been a long time since I’d been around that many people since March. While it was nerve-wracking, it was also exciting. We had a new project to work on in IMA Practicum, and I was ready for the challenge.
And for once, things felt a little “normal” since the pandemic started.
The film team went on site to the East Broad Top Railroad several times over the semester and it got easier every time. We made sure we were being safe: we would have people masked until the interviews started, we’d place our cameras six feet or more away, and we’d use zoom lenses to get a tighter shot when needed.
While it was an unprecedented semester, I valued my peers who persevered and created great work for their community partners, and I saw them
all being incredible problem-solvers under the circumstances.
Even with the challenges of navigating a film during a pandemic, we still succeeded and had deliverables for our clients. We followed the rules and created guidelines on the safest and best ways to film, and we were able to produce and share a compelling trailer of our EBT documentary — a “taste of what’s to come” as one Facebook viewer wrote.
It created even more excitement about the project and organization. We were able to see our hard work pay off and see the trailer being shared throughout the community.
On top of all of that, I worked with the best female filmmakers around; Tatum Poirier, Hayley Purvis, and Professor Ryan Gibboney
who constantly inspired and pushed me to stay focused and productive during this COVID semester. I feel more confident about Spring 2021 and I know we can overcome the challenges it may bring.
